Leighton Andrews is Professor of Practice in Public Service Leadership and Innovation at Cardiff Business School. Formerly Assembly Member for the Rhondda from 2003-2016, and Minister for Education and Skills and Minister for Public Services in Carwyn Jones’s Welsh Labour Governments from 2009-16. He was the first person to be made Welsh Politician of the Year on two occasions. In 2012, he gave a detailed personal interview on his career to ITV Wales Political Editor Adrian Masters, which can be found here:

Prior to his election to the National Assembly in 2003, Leighton had had a successful career in the private, public and voluntary sectors. He was the BBC’s Head of Public Affairs in London from 1993-1996 during its Charter Renewal campaign. He has been an Honorary Professor in Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies since 2004, and lectured in that department prior to his election. He ran a number of businesses in the public relations field and set up his own business after leaving the BBC.  He worked for Age Concern and the UN International Year of Shelter for the Homeless before entering the private sector. He took his first degree in English and History at the University College of North Wales, Bangor, and then a Master’s degree in History at the University of Sussex.

To contact Leighton, email leightonrandrews@gmail.com